WILLITS, 9/25/18 -- Facebook appears to be demoting the work of small news publications, such as The Mendocino Voice and many of our colleagues across the country. But there are a few simple work-arounds to make sure that you still get the local news you're looking for -- and this article includes instructions for how to change your Facebook settings to prioritize pages and make sure they're at the top of your newsfeed. (Scroll down for photo instructions)

News publishers have developed an awkward relationship with Facebook over the last ten years. On the one hand, as Facebook has come to dominate people's time and media consumption, thus having a strong presence on the platform has become imperative. On the other, Facebook is capricious and opaque. While having the platform makes it easy for new audience members to find us, especially in breaking news situation, it also leaves us at the whim of company whose intentions are unclear at best.

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So, like all other small publishers across the country, we continue to try to thread the needle, using Facebook for some things, while building our website and newsletter, to provide you a variety of ways to get your local news.

Anyhow, like everyone else, we're figuring it out. In the meantime take these quick steps to make sure that we, and all your other favorite local publishers, are at the top of your news feed.

Desktop instructions

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And here's how to do it on mobile:

It's super quick and easy to do it on your mobile app as well.

Step 1

Click the ellipses button.

Step 2

Select "Following."

Step 3

Select "See First." That's it!

If you take these small steps with our Facebook page, and any other of your favorite local news sites, you'll be more likely to stay in a local loop, instead of getting pull towards national click bait.

Thanks for reading -- 👍.

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